Rick Forney, Manager
In many ways – and for all the right reasons – Rick Forney, now entering his third season as Revs skipper, returned home.
On October 24, 2022, the York Revolution announced the hiring of the long-time skipper of the Winnipeg Goldeyes, one of the most successful managers in American Association history, as the new manager of the Revs, bringing Forney close to the area in which he started his professional baseball career and – more important – considerably closer to his Frederick, Maryland-based family, even during baseball season.
Forney, who turned 51 the day of his hiring, came to the White Rose City after 26 seasons in Winnipeg, including 17 as manager. He led the Goldeyes to an overall record of 887-753, 13 winning seasons, 10 playoff appearances, and three American Association championships (2012, 2016, 2017). He was also a two-time American Association Manager of the Year (2011, 2020).
Forney’s success has continued into his York tenure as the 2024 Revs put together one of the greatest seasons in Atlantic League history, going a franchise record 80-45 and winning the first half of the ALPB North Division by 12.0 games with a 43-20 record. York went 6-1 in the postseason en route to the fourth Atlantic League championship in franchise history and Forney’s fourth as a manager. In addition to setting numerous franchise and league records, the Revs also sold eight player contracts including a franchise record-tying six to MLB organizations. Forney was named Atlantic League Manager of the Year, the third Manager of the Year award of his career, while becoming the third skipper in Revs history and first in a decade to receive the honor.
Forney achieved his 1,000th win as a manager on July 4, 2024 and picked up his 100th win as Revs manager on June 15, 2024. Through two seasons in York, his .604 winning percentage (151-99) is the highest in league history.
In his first year as Revs manager in 2023, Forney oversaw a dramatic turnaround, inheriting a team that finished 20 games under .500 and going a North Division best 71-54 for the second-highest winning percentage in a season in Revs history at the time, narrowly missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker. He did it with only three holdovers from 2022 on his Opening Day roster and used a franchise record-few 41 players all season. Forney notched his 900th career win on May 26, 2023.
Forney departed a Winnipeg organization that was voted its league’s Organization of the Year on eight separate occasions and said the Revolution position was the ideal win-win situation.
“I knew if I was going to leave Winnipeg, it would only be for one of the best opportunities out there, and the Revolution position is certainly that,” he said at the time of his hiring. “This is a great club in a terrific league, and managing in York is better for me and my family.”
Born in nearby Annapolis, Maryland, Forney lives in Frederick County, Maryland, with his wife and three children, one of whom has cerebral palsy. Forney and his wife, Erika, lost their eldest child, David, in 2020 when he passed unexpectedly while studying and playing football at the United States Naval Academy.
The move to York also brings Forney back to the area in which his 10-year playing career began – and extends the Revolution’s deep connections to the Baltimore Orioles. As Revs manager, he now joins the team founded in part by Orioles legend Brooks Robinson (who himself began his pro career in York and is honored by a statue on the ballpark plaza bearing his name) and first managed by Orioles Hall of Famer Chris Hoiles. Hoiles was succeeded by Robinson’s teammate Andy Etchebarren. Numerous other former Orioles have served as team coaches since the club’s inception in 2007.
“For an organization that honors the greatest Oriole of all time on our front plaza, Rick’s Orioles roots are very fitting for our team,” said then-Revolution President Eric Menzer.
Drafted by the O’s as a 26th-round pick in 1991 out of Anne Arundel Community College, the right-handed pitcher launched his professional career with a 7-0 record and a 2.19 ERA for the Orioles’ Rookie level Gulf Coast League affiliate. The following season, he posted a 2.48 ERA in 123.1 innings for the Low-A Midwest League’s Kane County Cougars. In 1993, he won 14 games and recorded a 2.78 ERA for the High-A Carolina League’s Frederick Keys. Forney spent the majority of the next two seasons pitching at the Double-A level with the Eastern League’s Bowie Baysox, including a 13-win campaign in 1994 that saw Forney toss the only perfect game in Baysox history on July 30 of that season. Forney reached the Triple-A level in 1995, making three starts for the International League’s Rochester Red Wings. He would play the following season with the Lubbock Crickets before joining the Goldeyes in 1997 and becoming one of the greatest pitchers in the club’s history.
During his four years as a Goldeyes pitcher, Forney established club records for wins, strikeouts, games started, and innings pitched that stood for more than a decade, helping pitch his team into the postseason all four years. He was a three-time member of Baseball America’s All-Independent Team and twice named a Northern League All-Star.
After going 31-13 during his first three years in Winnipeg, Forney earned a second stint in Double-A with the Atlanta Braves in 1999 where he worked a 2.99 ERA in 12 starts for Greenville. Forney returned to the Goldeyes in 2000 in a dual role as player/pitching coach and transitioned into a full-time pitching coach midway through the season. He closed his 10-year playing career with an 89-56 record and a 3.63 ERA in 204 games (195 starts) while striking out 1,050 and walking just 363 in 1,221.0 innings lifetime.
In six years as Winnipeg’s pitching coach (2000-05), Forney saw 12 of his pitchers signed by MLB clubs while guiding his staff to a top five team ERA each season (three times finishing in the top two including a league-best 3.29 mark in 2003).
Forney’s 17-year run as Goldeyes manager established the third-longest managerial tenure with the same franchise in MLB Partner League history. Winnipeg’s three championships tied the most of any club since the American Association began play in 2006, and their back-to-back titles in 2016-17 marked just the second occurrence in league history, a feat that had not been accomplished in 10 years. Forney’s Goldeyes also sold the contracts of 44 players to Major League organizations.
Forney became just the fourth manager to be voted American Association Manager of the Year more than once (2011, 2020), and the first in six years. He took over the reigns from his former manager and mentor Hal Lanier prior to the 2006 season, and on August 11th, 2015, the Goldeyes defeated the Sioux Falls Canaries on a ninth-inning walk-off home run for Forney’s 524th win as manager, surpassing his predecessor for most victories in franchise history.
The Goldeyes joined the American Association in 2011, and went 631-527 through 2022. That .545 winning percentage under Forney was the fourth-highest overall in league history and second-highest among active franchises. Prior to coming to York, 17 players who Forney managed in Winnipeg also suited up at one time for the Revs.
Fun Fact: Forney lent his talents to the big screen, appearing as an opposing pitcher in the 1994 sports comedy film Major League II which featured numerous scenes filmed at Oriole Park.
Joe Harris, Pitching Coach
York County native Joe Harris begins his third season as pitching coach in 2025.
Harris’ staff was instrumental in the Revs winning the 2024 Atlantic League championship, as York had its lowest team ERA since 2019 and its best league ranking since 2014. That staff included Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year Jon Olsen and All-Star closer Matt Turner who signed with the Colorado Rockies after the season. Three other pitchers had their contracts purchased during the season.
Olsen’s ALPB Pitcher of the Year award marked the second time in as many seasons that Harris’ staff produced the league’s top arm, as lefty Nick Raquet was named co-Pitcher of the Year in 2023 before signing with the St. Louis Cardinals.
A veteran of both the Atlantic League where he pitched for the Revs in 2014-15 and the American Association where he spent several seasons competing against Rick Forney’s Winnipeg clubs, Harris returned to the Revs in 2023 to embark on his first season as a coach at the professional level while becoming the Revs’ first pitching coach on staff since 2019.
The 38-year-old Harris began his pro career in the American Association in 2011, signing with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks out of Division II Wilmington (DE) University. The lefty impressed as a rookie, posting a 3.49 ERA in 28 outings (two starts), and became a dominant reliever by his second season, lowering his ERA by almost a run to just 2.65 in 43 appearances.
His third season in 2013 was an eye-opening one, as Harris compiled a 10-3 record with a 1.55 ERA in 53 games out of the RedHawks bullpen, earning a spot on Baseball America’s All-Independent Team and a spot on its Top 25 prospect list (#22). Harris set a club record and tied for the league-lead in appearances while tying for third in the league in wins and was named the league’s Pitcher of the Month that July. He enjoyed similar success during his fourth season, as he combined to go 18-13 with a 2.41 ERA during his first four years in Fargo.
Harris’ success prompted a late-season acquisition by the playoff-bound 2014 York Revolution where he made seven appearances and allowed just two runs. After a stint in the Venezuelan Winter League, Harris returned to York at the start of the 2015 season and appeared in 21 games before finishing the season back in Fargo.
From there, Harris laid the groundwork for his coaching career. He spent the previous two seasons coaching at his alma mater, helping lead Wilmington University to a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference championship in 2022 while having the 10th-ranked pitching staff in the nation in all of Division II. Harris spends off seasons doing lessons at Rip-It Batting Cages & Training Facility in Reading, part of the Reading Fightin Phils Baseballtown Charities, and has spent six seasons with the Berks County Bulls travel program with teams from 10-18U.
During his playing days at Wilmington University, Harris was a two-time Division II All-America selection and two-time Conference Pitcher of the Year (2010, 2011). He was a two-time All-Region selection and a three-time All-Conference pick as he went 19-11 with a 2.30 ERA and six shutouts in his college career. That was highlighted by an 8-3 mark with a 1.54 ERA as a senior.
Harris made a cameo on the mound after a six-year hiatus, signing with the Charleston Dirty Birds to make eight appearances (five starts), logging 24.0 innings during the 2021 season. Harris became the first professional pitcher to deliver a pitch from Major League Baseball’s experimental mound distance of 61’6 used during the second half of the 2021 Atlantic League season in a game on August 3, 2021 vs Gastonia that was ultimately rained out. Two weeks earlier, he worked five strong innings in a no-decision at York, carrying a shutout into the fifth.
Over the course of his six-year pro career, Harris went 20-18 with a 3.36 ERA, totaling 287.0 innings, 228 strikeouts, seven saves, and 202 appearances (10 starts).
A native of Douglassville, PA, Harris graduated from Daniel Boone High School in Birdsboro and grew up a Phillies fan, attending the team’s World Series parade in 2008. Harris now resides year-round in York County.
Harris joined Sandy DeLeon as just the second former Revs player to later become a member of the team’s coaching staff. DeLeon caught for the Revs in 2010 and was activated in backup roles in 2013-14 before joining the coaching staff from 2017-22. Enohel Polanco played for the Revs in 2010 but began his coaching career simultaneously as a player-coach during his first season in York.
Derek Wolfe, Hitting Coach
Derek Wolfe begins his third season as hitting coach for the Revs in 2025.
Wolfe had a major impact on the Revs’ success during his first season in York as the Revs offense tallied a league-high 797 runs while also leading the league in hits, doubles, and on-base percentage. The team ranked second in batting average and steals and third in home runs.
York managed to top that performance during the championship season in 2024 with one of the greatest offensive seasons in league history. Their 859 runs made them the second-highest scoring club in league history while placing third all-time in runs per game (6.87), slugging (.485) and OPS (.856). Their runs per game mark led all of professional baseball outside of the Pioneer League. York also obliterated the previous league record with 335 stolen bases as a team, second in all of professional baseball in 2024, and led the league in batting (.287), doubles (256), OBP (.372, 10th in league history), and sac flies (club record 59). The Revs’ 177 homers were a club record and 9th most in league history. Five position players had their contracts purchased including four by MLB organizations, and three were named Atlantic League All-Stars.
Wolfe spent the previous four seasons in the American Association including three years with the Sioux City Explorers where after a year as bench coach, he served as the team’s hitting coach for two seasons. His time in Iowa came after a year with the Gary SouthShore Railcats in 2018.
The Florida native continues to spend his spring seasons as assistant coach at Seminole State (FL) College, a top D1 Junior College program, where he serves as the program’s hitting coach, third base coach, and oversees the Raiders’ infielders, having also previously coached the team’s outfielders when he first joined the program in 2018.
A coaching veteran, Wolfe brings an extensive background with experience at a wide range of levels within the game.
Wolfe began his career as head coach at Hiwassee (TN) College from 1995-2000, before spending six seasons from 2001-07 as an assistant coach at the University of Central Florida where he served a variety of areas within the program including assistant recruiting coordinator, hitting coach, third base coach, and outfielders coach. Wolfe helped guide 18 student-athletes who went on to sign MLB contracts during his time at UCF. He also held summer collegiate league head coaching positions during that time with both the Winter Park Angels and the Diamond Dawgs of the Florida Collegiate Summer League where he was named FCSL Coach of the Year in 2005, guided the Angels to a league championship, and served as the league’s Vice President.
Wolfe’s background also includes great success at the prep level, where he was head varsity coach and middle school dean of students at Trinity Preparatory School in Winter Park, FL from 2008-14, and head coach at Seminole High School from 2014-18. Wolfe’s time at Trinity Prep was highlighted by a pair of District Championships as he was named Coach of the Year by his fellow coaches in 2012 and helped guide 22 players who committed to NCAA Division I programs and one MLB draft selection.
Wolfe brings a strong background in baseball analytics to his role with certifications from OnbaseU, Rapsodo, Blast Motion, and Baseball Analytics. He is well-regarded throughout the industry for his individual approach with hitters and his tireless work ethic. During his prep coaching days, Wolfe even co-authored a book on the subject, Coaching Revolution – A Philosophy and Game Plan.
A native of Fort Lauderdale, FL, Wolfe played four years at Tennessee Wesleyan University where he graduated in 1994 with a degree in Physical Education Teaching and Coaching. He and his wife Jennifer reside in Lake Mary, FL with their children Jack, Hayden, Danny, and Julie.
John Deitch, MD, Head Team Physician
Dr. John Deitch is entering his 14th season as Head Team Physician for the York Revolution. He also serves as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of WellSpan Orthopedics. Dr. Deitch leads a team of surgeons, physicians, advanced practitioners, therapists, licensed athletic trainers and exercise physiologists committed to providing comprehensive sports medicine care to individual athletes, multiple colleges, local teams including 18 high schools, and the Atlantic League Champion, York Revolution. His team focuses on the whole continuum of sports medicine care from injury prevention to surgery to safe return to work or play.
Dr. Deitch was active in sports during his own playing days, experiencing sports injuries and meeting physicians, therapists and athletic trainers who greatly influenced his decision to pursue a career in sports medicine. Most of all, he credits his parents as his biggest influence and values the opportunity to help others make positive changes in their lives.
Dr. Deitch completed his undergraduate degree at Elizabethtown College. He is a graduate of Temple University School of Medicine, completed an internship and residency at University of Cincinnati followed by fellowship training in sports medicine at Baylor College of Medicine – Houston. He is board certified in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.
In his free time, Dr. Deitch enjoys scuba diving, hunting and traveling with his family.
Julianna “Juna” Currie — Team Trainer
Julianna (Juna) Currie, MAT, LAT, ATC, Licensed Athletic Trainer brings a wealth of experience and a passion for sports medicine in her first year as Athletic Trainer with the York Revolution.
Juna began her career with WellSpan in July 2021, initially supporting the York Country Day School and the York Skipjacks Juniors Ice Hockey team. She then moved to Kennard Dale High School in July 2022. Juna is actively involved in various community and educational initiatives. She leads the Sports Outreach Committee (SOC) community event coordination group, ensuring medical coverage for various events. Juna is also a member of the Special Olympics of PA Indoor Winter Games medical committee and is cross trained to work in the WellSpan sports medicine clinic and urgent orthopedic walk-in services.
Juna’s journey in health science began after a car accident in high school, which put her in direct contact with doctors, PAs, physical therapists, and athletic trainers. This experience inspired her to help athletes return to their sports with the same level of care and support she received. She graduated from Avon Grove High School in West Grove, PA, and went on to attend Lebanon Valley College, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science and a Master’s degree in Athletic Training. During her graduate work, Juna gained valuable experience working with the Lebanon Valley College Football Team, Milton Hershey School athletic teams, Penn Medicine Sports Medicine Clinic, Perkiomen School athletic teams, and Camp Lejeune Marine Base in Jacksonville, NC.
Juna is originally from West Grove, PA, and has been a competitive swimmer since the age of four, competing at district, regional, state, national, and junior Olympic levels. She continued her swimming career at Lebanon Valley College and also played on the women’s golf team. Outside of work, Juna remains passionate about swimming and enjoys working out, hiking, and water sports.